Naples High grad taking her own bikini line to market

David Albers/Staff
- Swimwear designer Jean Andersen works with Orlando model Cassie Lynn during a photo shoot for Anderson's 2012 bikini collection on Sunday, July 1, 2012, in Naples. Anderson is a Naples High School graduate who is chasing her dream in the swimsuit design world with her company Brass Monkey Swimwear.

Ladies, it's time for an informal swimwear study.

Meditate for a moment on every swimsuit you've ever owned. Now, try to remember the best of the bunch, those that combined a fabulous fit with sensational style. Think of the ones that didn't cost a fortune, but didn't fall to pieces after a single season, either.

If it's difficult to recall such perfection, Jean Andersen can empathize.

The search for swimsuit gold is what led her to start making her own bikinis, ultimately incorporating under the label Brass Monkey Swimwear in 2010. Andersen recently held a photo shoot on the Naples beach to market her first collection, which includes 13 suits she personally designed and has put into production. The collection also includes one limited edition suit.

"I want women to feel like women," Andersen said. "My suits feel comfortable, first of all. They feel almost as if you're naked when you're walking around. Quality is first and foremost."

Andersen, 32, graduated from Naples High School in 1998 and now lives in Jupiter with her husband, Kirk, and their three children. She describes herself as having "always been crafty." Her grandmother taught her how to crochet and knit when she was young, but it was as an eighth grader at Golden Gate Middle School that she first had a hint of her true calling.

There, she took a sewing class. She even remembers her first project: boxer shorts.

"Taking stuff apart and tracing stuff," she said. "That's pretty much how I started."

High school proved to be a fertile field for her creative talents, thanks to Naples High's dress code. Always a beach bunny, Andersen couldn't resist showing off her sun-soaked skin — but the school required students to wear shirts with straps of a certain width. Andersen went to work, embellishing her spaghetti strap tank tops with scraps of fabric salvaged from a local fabric shop sale bin.

"Me and my friends would wear it to school," she said. "Bright colors and dark tans."

Andersen went on to earn a skin-care license and focused her attention on raising her family. But she never left her love of sewing behind: For her bridal shower, she made more than 20 aprons for her guests. The black-and-white polka dot aprons had satin ties and were presented to her friends in mason jars.

"They were cute," Andersen recalled. "Oh, my gosh."

In 2009, while she was pregnant with her third child, Andersen started playing with the idea of creating bikinis. She took out brown paper grocery bags and used them as sketchpads, and searched her house for old clothes with the right fabric that she could repurpose.

Coming up with a name for the company proved a bit more challenging. Andersen wanted something with a bit more staying power, something that could eventually include menswear, too.

Brass Monkey was born. Still, even with a name, Brass Monkey was still relatively small-time. Andersen was making custom suits at home and selling them as desired.

But her big break was around the corner. Her friend, Brandi Ownbey, turned out to be the sister of Andrea Ownbey, who appears on "The Howard Stern Show" as Miss Howard Stern. Andersen and her swimsuits made an appearance on the show in October 2011, and it was then that Andersen began to truly consider the future of Brass Monkey.

Ownbey modeled some of the suits for Andersen at a show in Jupiter and was immediately smitten. They're stylish and unique, and the fit is beyond compare, she says:"I was really impressed. I wanted one for myself."

Suits from Andersen's first collection, which are available on her website, www.brassmonkeyswimwear.com range from $70 to $120. They're not available in stores, but Andersen hopes to try selling them directly to customers through "bikini parties."

Her inspiration for the suits is always sentimental, she said. In this collection, one suit memorialized the loss of a close friend. Another suit — a tan-colored, lace-lined bikini — is a nod to the Harley-Davidson motorcycles her father loves. Since starting the company, she's created a Union Jack bikini in honor of her British grandmother and suits with themes that range from Western wear to fruit.

But don't expect that most infamous of all swimsuits to show up in any of Andersen's collections anytime soon.